Crawling In The Dark
by Katriona
Summary: The Charmed ones run across one of their biggest challenges ever, in the form of a young boy. Co-written with Coletaylor17.
1. Default Chapter

Crawling In The Dark  
  
Summary: The Charmed ones run across one of their biggest challenges ever, in the form of a young boy.  
  
Disclaimer: The idea of this fic, and all original characters, belong to Coletaylor. I'm also co-writing a bit, but mostly editing and the like. Neither of us is affiliated with Spelling or the WB.  
  
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Piper, Phoebe, and Paige walked out of P3. It had been a semi-busy night at the club, and all three of them had decided to head home. As they were pulling out of the club parking lot, out of nowhere a boy came running across into the street. He darted straight into traffic and ran into the alley on the opposite side of the street. He came inches away from being hit by Paige, who was driving her sisters that night. She swerved and missed the boy.   
  
"What the hell?" Piper exclaimed as the car came to a sudden stop.  
  
"I don't know, but maybe we should go and see if he needs help." Phoebe suggested.  
  
Her sisters agreed. Paige parked her VW Bug by the curb and all three got out and followed the boy into the alley. They came to the end of the dark, dank street and looked around. They saw a figure sitting by a dumpster. They walked over to see if it was the boy.  
  
"Well, isn't this nice?" Paige commented upon seeing the boy, who was passed out. He had a bottle of alcohol wrapped in a brown paper bag in one hand, and a plastic bag of drugs in the other.  
  
Phoebe bent down to the boy's level and tapped him, "Hey, wake up!"  
  
The boy awakened immediately, and to his surprise he found three attractive women around him. Startled, he scooted away from the sisters, then hopped up.   
  
"Who…who are you?" the boy asked nervously.  
  
"We're just trying to help you," Phoebe told him "Now, what's your name and where do you live?"   
  
"Just leave me alone!" the boy screamed, frightened that they were the police wanting to arrest him.  
  
"Just calm down," Piper said soothingly.  
  
The boy kept yelling with his hands at his side, when out of nowhere it happened. A wall, which appeared to be made of ice, started to form between him and the women. All four of them were quite shocked. The boy stepped back farther, until his back was to the brick fence that lined the alley.  
  
"Oh!" Piper yelled as she brought her hands up.  
  
The boy froze, and the wall stopped growing, leaving about a foot-and-a-half gap between the ice and the fence.  
  
"What do we do now?" Phoebe asked her two sisters.  
  
"I can orb him out." Paige suggested. "Unfreeze, him, Piper."  
  
Piper did as she was told, just as Paige tried to orb onto the other side of the wall. She was thrown back, as if by some other, stronger barrier.  
  
"What the hell?" she and the boy exclaimed at the same time.  
  
"I can't orb," Paige said, looking to her sisters. "Why can't I orb?"  
  
"What the hell is an orb?" the boy asked, looking frightened. "What are you people?"  
  
"We'll explian later," Piper said. "Right now, you need to trust us." She frowned, thinking. "Okay, first we need to get you out of there. Can you squeeze through that gap?"  
  
The boy, who was quite scrawny and under-fed, had no trouble getting past the sheet of ice, although his leg was almost caught when Piper's freeze wore off and the ice started spreading again. He made it through just in time to avoid being crushed. The wall closed up a second later. His alcohol and drugs were on the other side.  
  
"Come on," Phoebe said, following his gaze to where the paper bag and plastic baggie lay. "You don't need those."  
  
He nodded, and looked at them distrustfully. "Who - what - are you? How did you do that?"  
  
Piper shook her head. "We didn't do that. You did."  
  
The boy stared at her, not comprehending what she'd said.  
  
Paige put her arm around him, urging him over to her car. "Let's get you back to our house," she said. "We'll explain everything there, but right now we need to make sure you're safe."  
  
He numbly walked with them, and got into the car without arguement. He even let Piper buckle his seatbelt for him, and then stared out the window as they drove off. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on in," Paige said as they led the boy inside the manor. He stepped into the foyer, and looked around uncertainly.  
  
"Let me take this," Piper said, pulling off his jacket. She hung it up on the coatrack, and motioned for the boy to go into the parlor. He sat down on the chair by the fireplace, and the sisters sat across from him on the couch.  
  
"Do you want to tell us your name?" Paige asked.  
  
"Cole," the boy replied slowly. "Cole Taylor."  
  
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Cole, huh? That's funny, you have the same name as my former husband..." She looked around suspiciously, half expecting her ex to pop up any minute.  
  
"Hey, we vanquished him, remember?" Paige prompted.  
  
Phoebe shrugged, and nodded.  
  
"Okay, I told you my name," Cole interrupted. "The least you can do is tell me yours."  
  
"The least we can do?" Paige repeated. "After we picked you up off the street and brought you home? You little-"  
  
"Paige," Piper interrupted warningly. She glared at her sister, then softened her expression for the boy. "I'm Piper Halliwell, and those are my sisters, Phoebe and Paige."  
  
"Now, do you want to tell us what happened back there? With the whole wall of ice." Phoebe asked.  
  
"No. First you tell me about what you three did back there," Cole replied in a tough tone of voice.  
  
"Okay then," Paige said with a sigh, "We're witches."   
  
"Yeah right, that's some lame ass lie," Cole told them bitterly.  
  
"Hey, watch your mouth," Piper told him as her motherly instinct took over.  
  
"Really, we are witches," Paige said. "Here, watch this."   
  
Paige orbed from in front of Cole to behind him. Cole couldn't believe what he just saw.  
  
"What the f-" Cole started but was quickly stopped by Piper.  
  
"Hey! Language."   
  
"Now, this might be hard to understand, but we are not going to hurt you," Phoebe reassured. "We're good witches.  
  
"Oh no," Cole said. He felt what happened in the alley coming on again, but this time it was different. He brought his left hand to his forehead trying to stop the pain from spreading in his skull. A ball of ice appeared in his right hand. He couldn't believe this, without looking he threw the ball of ice. It went in the direction of Piper.  
  
"Hey!" she exclaimed as she brought her hands up and froze the ball.  
  
"D-did, you just stop that?" Cole asked, dumbstruck.  
  
"Yeah, that's what I do," she told him, "Now no more-"  
  
She was interrupted by Cole's reaction. He stood up and knocked over a chair. He staggered a bit because the alcohol and drugs he had taken had started to kick in.  
  
"Easy Cole, its all right." Phoebe said noticing that he was freaking out.  
  
Cole started to run when all of a sudden a man appeared in front of him. This was too much for Cole. He passed out from all of the events of the night. 


	3. Chapter 3

"Whoa," Leo said, surprised that a boy had just fainted in front of him, "Who is this?"  
  
"His name is Cole Taylor." Piper informed him.  
  
"We had an interesting run-in with him in the alley." Paige interrupted.  
  
"Really, what kind?" Leo asked as he picked up Cole and set him on the couch.  
  
"Have you ever heard of a power that involves ice?" Phoebe asked curiously.  
  
"I have heard of a few. What kind did he display?" Leo asked finally picking up that Cole had powers of his own.  
  
"Well, in the alley he managed to make some kind of wall made of ice," Phoebe informed.  
  
"One, which I couldn't orb through." Paige added.  
  
"Yeah, and just a few minutes ago he managed to make a ball of ice with his hands and throw it at me." Piper finished.  
  
"Well, I haven't heard of any powers like that," Leo said as he tried to think of what the sisters told him, "I will go check with the elders. Is there anything in the Book of Shadows?"   
  
"I was just about to go check," Paige said as she got up and headed towards the stairs.  
  
Leo orbed up to the elders and Paige went up stairs, and then there was a crying on the baby monitor. Piper also went upstairs to check on Wyatt. Phoebe was left alone with Cole.  
  
There was a light moan and Cole's eyes slowly opened.  
  
"Welcome back," Phoebe told Cole as he slowly sat up.  
  
"Hi," Cole responded a little groggy, "Oh my head hurts, I think I am going to be sick."  
  
"Oh!" Phoebe said as she thought of what to do, "here, come with me."   
  
Phoebe grabbed Cole by the arm and led him up stairs and to the bathroom. Right as Cole entered, he went to his knees and the alcohol came up and went back into the toilet. After he had finished he stood up and then sat back down with his back against the bathtub.   
  
"Sorry about that, I can usually hold my liquor better. Boy, am I embarrassed." Cole said as he rubbed his face, trying to wake up.  
  
"What's a kid like you doing with alcohol in the first place?" Phoebe asked. "You're only, what, fourteen, fifteen?"  
  
"Fifteen," he replied.  
  
"Fifteen years old, and you're already drinking?" Phoebe questioned sadly. "Why?"  
  
Cole shrugged. "Just... stuff. It's a long story."  
  
Phoebe sat down on the edge of the bathtub. "I've got time."  
  
Cole let out a long sigh, not really wanting to go through his painful past.   
  
"It all started when I was eight years old," Cole started, "I went to the playground and my mom and dad said that they were going to get some ice cream."   
  
As Cole started his story, Paige came to the doorway and shyly peaked her head in to see what was going on.   
  
"Boy, was I a fool at eight. I waited and waited, but my parents never came back," Cole said trying to not to loose his tough extiorer by letting some tears fall, " I did what I was always told to do whenever I got lost, stay put."  
  
By now, Piper now stood by Paige, rocking Wyatt. Cole glanced up and saw the two of them who joined him and Phoebe, but Cole didn't care.  
  
"Over the next couple of years I learned the ways to survive on the streets," Cole said as he stood up, "I need a drink." He said as he started walking out, embarrassed.  
  
"I don't think so," Piper said sternly, "as of now, that is gonna stop."  
  
"What? You aren't my parents! You can't tell me what to do." Cole said angrily as he continued to make his way out of the bathroom.  
  
Cole managed to get into the hall but was stopped by a crimson-skinned, orange-eyed demon blinking in right in front of him.  
  
"What the devil?" Cole gasped.  
  
"Close enough," the demon responded in a deep, thick voice. He gave the boy a menacing smile before launching a fireball at Piper. With Wyatt in her arms, there was no way she could raise her hands to freeze it in time.  
  
"No!" shouted Cole. He put up his hands out of reflex, and was shocked to see a sheet of ice forming just in front of Piper. The fireball hit the ice instead of the witch it had been intended for, melting the wall but leaving Piper and the baby unharmed.  
  
"Thanks," she breathed, letting out a rush of air.  
  
Paige and Phoebe rushed to their sister's side. Piper, too shocked to move and breathing heavily from the adrenaline, numbly handed Wyatt over to them and froze the demon.  
  
"Okay, attic, now," Phoebe ordered. Cole and her sisters didn't need to be told twice. Piper took Wyatt back from Paige, and, with several nervous glances back at the demon to make sure he stayed frozen, led the others upstairs. 


	4. Chapter 4

"What the hell was that?" Cole asked as they rushed into the attic. The last person inside, he closed the door behind them.  
  
"That was a demon," Paige replied matter-of-factly. "And in a minute, he'll be history."  
  
"Um, guys, there's no vanquishing spell here," Phoebe called from her station in front of the Book of Shadows. Piper was standing next to her, rocking Wyatt while occasionally peering over her sister's shoulder.  
  
"Well, we'll just have to make one up," she replied, shifting the baby onto her hip. Wyatt gave a grunt of protest before settling back down.  
  
Cole stood in the corner not knowing what to think. This was the first time he had ever seen anything like this. Sure, he had seen pretty strange things when he was high or drunk, but never anything that was trying to kill him.   
  
Piper started writing on a piece of paper, her two sisters watching over her, giving her suggestions.  
  
"I've got it. Here, read this." Piper said as she shared the piece of paper with her sisters.  
  
"Evil demon, be gone today." The sisters started reading as the demon busted through the door. He got ready to throw another fireball. "Let our spell kill you away." The sisters finished their spell. The demon screamed out loud right before he exploded right in front of the sisters and Cole.   
  
"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked, making sure Cole wasn't hurt or frightened.  
  
"Yeah, I'm good," Cole reassured them. "Nice spell." He added sarcastically.  
  
"Hey" Piper said, a little upset by Cole's disrespect.  
  
"Yeah, it wasn't your best." Paige added.  
  
"Paige." Piper said as she gave her a little smack.  
  
Paige looked at her innocently. "Well, it wasn't."  
  
Piper rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, at least it worked. So now what do we do?"  
  
"Wait for Leo, I guess," Phoebe replied.  
  
The sisters looked over at Cole. It had been a long night, and he looked exhausted.  
  
"Why don't I get the kids to bed?" Piper suggested.  
  
"I'm not a little kid," Cole said indignantly. "I don't have a bedtime, especially not the same one as that little squirt," he continued, motioning to Wyatt with an expression that could almost be seen as affectionate. Almost.  
  
Piper shrugged. "Okay, but you know we've got a nice, warm, queen-size bed in our guestroom that'll be there whenever you're ready for it. After all, it's not everyday that you see demons like that. Unless of course you're us. But anyway, they can be pretty tiring, so if you feel like you want to lay down for a while..."  
  
Cole nodded. Now that she mentioned it, he was feeling a bit sleepy. "Okay," he said, "Show me to the guestroom."  
  
"Here, honey, I'll get him down," Paige offered, taking Wyatt from her sister. Piper handed the baby over and led Cole downstairs.  
  
Cole felt a little weird. It had been a very long time since anyone had make a bed for him like Piper was doing now.   
  
"If you need anything Phoebe and I are down the hall to the right and Paige is to the left, and you are right next to the bathroom." Piper informed him as she finished making the guest bed.   
  
"Uh, thanks." Cole said not knowing how to properly thank her.   
  
  
  
She smiled at him, and then left, closing the door to give him some privacy.  
  
Cole was afraid to sit on the bed. He knew that if he touched it he would not be able to get back up again, which is what he had to do. 


	5. Chapter 5

Cole slipped out of his room as soon as everything got quiet. Carefully, so as to avoid making any noise at all, he snuck down to the kitchen. His plan was simple: grab some things to eat, enough to get him through a few days at least, and then leave.  
  
He knew he couldn't stay there. He never did like people telling him what to do, and when you factor in all the weird stuff that started with him meeting the Halliwell clan, he couldn't get out of there fast enough. He figured they wouldn't miss him much; after all, nobody ever did. With this thought to strengthen his resolve, he tiptoed toward the refrigerator, filling his pockets with as much as he could fit. When he'd taken as much as he could, he opened the back door, and slipped out into the dark street.  
  
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After everyone went into their rooms, Piper tried to go to sleep, but for some odd reason she couldn't. She got up to go check on Wyatt. She looked down in the crib and stared at her son, who was sleeping peacefully.  
  
"Well, since there is nothing I can do for you, I'll go check on Cole," Piper said quietly as she lightly rubbed Wyatt's hair.  
  
She pulled on her robe, walked by her sleeping husband and slipped out the door and down the hall. She got to the door that led to Cole's room and stopped for a second.  
  
'What if he wakes up while I'm in there? What will he think?' Piper thought to herself. She shook her head, thinking, 'No, I'll just tell him the truth that I'm just making sure that he is okay.'  
  
She quietly and slowly opened the door and quietly entered Cole's room only to have her heart jump to her throat. The boy was gone.  
  
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Cole was walking along the streets. He seemed to be doing well. He was a little cold and he was now starting to get tired.   
  
"Boy, that bed sounds good about now," Cole mumbled to himself.  
  
He kept walking along the dark streets until he came to his familiar alley, and sat down to take a quick break and to eat something. He was starving and the food he had crammed into his pocket was sounding delicious.  
  
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"Leo!" Piper called out as she stood there, and just stared at the empty bed.  
  
Leo, as well as Phoebe and Paige all ran to Piper's voice. All three were surprised to see that she was in Cole's room.   
  
"What's wrong Piper?" Phoebe asked, worried for her sister.  
  
"That's what's wrong," Piper told all three of them as she pointed to the bed, where Cole was nowhere to be found.  
  
"Leo can you sense him?" Paige asked, nervous that something bad happened to the boy.  
  
Leo closed his eyes and concentrated, then he spoke up, "I got him."   
  
"Go get him and bring him back," Piper, said.  
  
Leo nodded and then orbed out of the manor, leaving his wife and her sisters staring anxiously after him. 


	6. Chapter 6

Cole had just sat down and set his backpack against an old brick wall in an alley. He took out a roll that he had stolen from the Halliwells. It was his very last piece of food. He was about to rip off a piece and put it in his mouth, when all of a sudden a white and light blue light appeared in front of him.   
  
  
  
"Ahhh!" Cole screamed, and scrambled away from the incoming Leo.  
  
  
  
"It's okay, Cole," he assured the frightened boy, "I'm Piper's husband, Leo."   
  
  
  
"Oh, jeeze, you know how to scare someone," Cole breathed.  
  
  
  
Leo was about to start talking to Cole, when all of a sudden Cole grabbed his head. He started to feel dizzy.  
  
  
  
"Whats wrong?" Leo asked, not knowing what was happening.   
  
  
  
"I...I...think it is happening again," Cole said, still not feeling well.  
  
  
  
He felt a surge of energy flow through his right hand so he aimed it blindley and out of nowhere a ball of ice flew away from his palm. The ball hit Leo in the shoulder and upon impact, froze his whole arm.   
  
  
  
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean too." Cole appologized with tears in his eyes. He had made a big mistake now.  
  
  
  
Leo let out a faint cry of pain but then said, "Dont worry about it, I know you didnt mean to." Leo then orbed out of the ice and reappeared behind Cole.  
  
  
  
The ice fell to the ground and shattered. Cole stared at it, amazed.  
  
"So, let's get you home," Leo said, ignoring the boy's stunned expression.  
  
Cole's head snapped up, and his attitude became defiant. "I am home. Why are you here?"  
  
"Nice place," Leo said sarcastically, looking around.  
  
"Why are you here?" Cole repeated, more forcefully this time.  
  
Leo sighed. "I'm here to bring you back to the manor. What I don't get is why you left in the first place. Are you telling me you'd really rather live in some cold, dark side street than in a nice house with a warm bed? What about food? I know you must have taken something from the kitchen before you left, but that's got to be running out by now. Where will you get more? You're just a kid, you can't get a job. What will you do for money?"  
  
"I'll manage," Cole replied, though he wasn't really so sure.  
  
"But why would you want to?" Leo questioned.  
  
"Listen man, what is your problem? Why won't you leave me alone?" Cole retorted, his voice rising.   
  
"I, as well as the sisters, are only looking out for your well being," Leo answered him.  
  
"I can take care of myself, I've done it for the past three years, I think I can handle it," Cole said as he gathered all of his belongings.   
  
"That was before your new power had come into your life." Leo pointed out.  
  
"I can control it." Cole insisted, as he started to walk away.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure you can, I have seen how well you have controlled it." Leo shot back  
  
"Look man, you are really pushing it. If I were you I would back off." Cole said as he faced Leo.  
  
Then out of nowhere, that's when it happened. 


	7. Chapter 7

A demon appeared out of nowhere. He was taller than both Leo and Cole. He had messy, stringy orange hair, sharp teeth, and yellow spots on his face, the demon version of freckles.  
  
  
  
"I am here for you!" the demon said as he pointed towards Cole.  
  
  
  
"Cole, stay behind me!" Leo commanded as he charged the demon.  
  
  
  
Cole went towards his bag, picking it up and getting ready to bolt, but he noticed Leo struggling with the demon.   
  
  
  
"Damnit," Cole cursed to himself. He didn't know why he didn't run. If it were any other person he would have been out of there like that.   
  
  
  
Cole shut his eyes tight and said to himself, "Come on come on," hoping to get the ice to shoot out again.  
  
  
  
Cole concentrated, hoping to get the ice to come out again. He grew frustrated quickly and stopped trying, he looked around and he saw an old rusty pipe. 'Perfect,' he thought.  
  
  
  
He raced towards the pipe and grabbed it. He then went over to Leo and the demon who were still struggling. He waited for an opportunity when the demon's back was at a good range.   
  
  
  
Leo let out a grunt of pain and then there was the moment. The demon was on top of Leo and was about to let down a punch on him when all of a sudden Cole brought the pipe above his head and brought it down on the demon's back.  
  
  
  
"AARRRAGHHH!" the demon cried it out. He took his attention off of Leo and turned towards Cole.  
  
  
  
The demon threw Leo towards a wall and got up and headed towards Cole. Cole gripped the pipe and swung towards the demon, but he stopped the incoming pipe with his hand. The demon took the pipe and threw it away. Cole swung a fist at the demon, but the demon also stopped the punch and then he threw Cole against a wall, like he had done with Leo.  
  
  
  
Cole let out a cry of pain and felt a rib or two break. The blow against the wall caused several cuts on Cole's face, which had blood coming out of them along with a few parts of his clothes to be ripped.  
  
  
  
Leo saw the demon laughing and knew that there was nothing he could do so he made a really tough decision, hoping that it would be the right one.  
  
  
  
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Phoebe, Piper and Paige were sitting on the couch, worrying about Cole. Wyatt was asleep upstairs. Piper had the baby monitor by the three of them.  
  
  
  
Out of nowhere Leo orbed in and touched both Phoebe and Piper on the shouler.  
  
  
  
The three of them became alarmed, noticing the beat up state that he was, "Leo, what happened?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"Are you okay?" Piper chimed in.  
  
"Where's Cole?" Paige asked at the same time.  
  
  
  
Leo didn't even respond to any of their questions, knowing there was no time to waste. Without a word, he orbed back out with Phoebe and Piper.  
  
  
  
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The demon picked Cole up and threw him once again. He wanted to weaken him, he knew the potential of the power he had.  
  
  
  
Leo, Piper, and Phoebe orbed in at the time to see the demon walking over to Cole.  
  
  
  
"Oh my god," Phoebe said, looking at the shape Cole was in.  
  
  
  
"HEY! Get away from him." Piper said.  
  
  
  
The demon turned around noticing Piper raise her hands. He quickly opened his mouth and spit out a red ooze.  
  
  
  
Before Piper could blow him up, she was hit in the stomach with the ooze which caused her to fly back and hit the wall. The red ooze acted as a quick drying glue. Piper was stuck to the wall with her hands stuck at her side, she was defensless.  
  
  
  
The demon walked over to Phoebe who had levitated into the air, ready to fight.  
  
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A/N: Thanks for the reviews and the e-mails, guys. Sorry for taking so long with the updates. We'll try and get another chapter up soon. 


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